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Tag: cali-lewis

  • Geek Brief's live switching call answered by Vidblaster

    Call for an affordable live switching application by Geek Brief star Cali Lewis answered by Vidblaster

    Geek Brief star Cali Lewis’ request for someone to come up with an affordable live switching application that would work with services like Ustream.tv and Stickam has been answered.
    After making the call a few weeks ago, the Geek Brief team began working with Mike Versteeg, the developer of Vidblaster.
    Lewis wanted a lower-cost live switching application for the growing network of video-podcasters streaming out near-professional HDTV quality live shows.
    She said there were analogue solutions but they cost over US$1,000, while the best options were priced at US$9,000 or more.

    These are beyond the price range of the new generation of low-budget producers – everyone from churches, city councils and community groups to individual bloggers.
    Now on her latest webcast, Lewis said Versteeg had worked on the Vidblaster software to add “functionality” and make it work with streaming services.
    “There’s a growing need in the market for this application, and Mike is now offering it at an affordable price so churches, community groups, schools, and individuals can have access to software that gives us all a live TV studio at our fingertips,” she said.

    Lewis explained that when the call was put out, Vidblaster did not work with any of the streaming services.
    But after introducing Versteeg to one of the founders of Ustream.tv that “barrier” was addressed.
    “Now we have an actual software application that any church, community group or school can afford,” she said. “So they can start broadcasting to the world at a very low entry cost.
    “Now you are able to do something for less than US$400 that previously would have cost someone a couple of grand at best.”

    As well as adapting VidBlaster so it can be used with streaming services like Ustream.TV, Versteeg has added various new functions:
    – single key camera switching
    – cueing up of video, audio or still images for use on live streams
    – graphic and text overlay

  • Geek Brief star calls for low-cost live streaming hardware to satisfy growing network of internet broadcasters


    First there were YouTube videos and podcasts made on webcams and camcorders, now there’s a growing network of video-podcasters streaming out near-professional HDTV quality live shows.
    Some – like Leo Laporte and Diggnations’s Kevin and Alex – attract many thousands of viewers to their live network-style webcasts using portable productions systems such as Tricaster.
    Yet while this technology has plumetted in price it’s still out of the reach of the new generation of low-budget producers – everyone from churches and community organisations to individual bloggers.
    Now the American internet podcaster Cali Lewis has launched an appeal on her popular Geek Brief show.
    She is calling for someone in the industry to come up with switching hardware aimed at this emerging market.
    On her latest webcast Cali explained about technical problems they have encountered while streaming live using multiple cameras and admitted they had hit a “roadblock” in terms of finding a solution.
    Having researched options such as Sony’s AnyCast (“too expensive”) and Datavideo SE-800 (cheaper but doesn’t “fit the mission”) Geek Brief is currently testing different software set-ups.
    These include Mike Versteeg’s VidBlaster, which he is working so it can be used with streaming services like Ustream.TV.
    But Cali said what was really needed was an “elegant solution that works for us and folks not able to drop $10,000 on a Tricaster”.
    She added: “We are interested in streaming because it’s fun and difficult to do well. It’s especially hard to do well without spending some pretty big bucks.
    “But there is a real opportunity for someone to build a hardware solution specifically for this emerging market.”
    It would seem like a reasonable call and one that offers great opportunities for anyone able to offer a solution.